The Leela Kempinski Hotel Mumbai Mumbai (Bombay)

... compartment is First Class - I apologised and told him that as soon as we stop I will change compartment but he wanted me to pay 10 Rupee I think. Anyway he wanted me to pay some kind of fine which I refused because it was clearly a mistake and I wasn't trying to get a cheap ride in First Class and I also suspected that he just wanted to keep it for himself.<br><br>He insisted that I had to pay but I apologised said I would change compartment but not pay a fine. It turned out ...

... ticket was as much use as a<br>chocolate tea-pot. "What bus? Can I take it tonight?" I was conscious<br>of the time. after all, I still had to pick up my stupid cash card from the<br>bank of India security chap at 3pm...."No problem for you Sir. Follow me<br>and I'll take you there, but first you put your bag in the security to hold<br>until its time for you to leave" WHAT A NICE GUY!!! But what about his<br>train...Surely he'll miss it if he continued to be the good Samaritan?? I'll<br>bet ...

... paid and if we didn't they would call the police! Now, neither one of us wanted the police involved and after the lengthy argument and some reasoning, we settled and paid him a percentage of the room charge. It seemed like a situation that just got out of hand and luckily we were able to get out of it smoothly, with little damage. We settled into our rooms at the new hotel and collapsed after an intense first day in Mumbai, India. Everything after this ...

Grrrrrrr!!!! OK - I'm about to have a rant - I cannot help myself! I am heartily SICK AND TIRED by the way Indians treat foreigners, particularly women! I am worried I am going to turn into a feminist!! First of all, Bollywood is STUPID! On a recent coach trip with the kids (which I am going to tell you all about in a minute) we ended up watching a lot of Bollywood movies. I still say they make bloody excellent ...

... he carries crampons for one of us! R: Surprisingly, even I had felt well all the time, no problems with the thin air or exhaustion. How proud I was! But now, the descent seemed endless and tiring. We reached the base camp at about 10.30, after 9 hours - I could hardly keep my eyes open, my feet hurt and my back was just one big pain. We had reached the 6000m alright and we were happy and proud, but for the rest of the day and the following night all we could was to sleep ...

... for anyone to want to have to deal with the city madness. We assume they don't and that probably explains why they don't seem to make any effort whatsoever to keep the buildings in good condition. Looking at VT terminus train station today, Mumbai's main train station in the city and the grandest of all the colonial buildings, we couldn't help but comment on the fact that the building probably hadn't received any attention, apart ...

... and I think I have seen only half of it. In Mumbai just to the north of Breach Candy several places of interest are within walking distance. The Mahalakshmi temple complex and the Haji Ali Dargah Mosk (tight security!) hug opposite shores. From there to the horse race track where incidentally the horses also sport the tilaka or bindi (red dot) between the eyes. The bridge at Mahalaxmi rail station offers a great view of the Dhobi Ghat laundry operation but also check out the opposite ...

... financially independent women and prefer to marry teachers. Sorry to disappoint you darling, I laugh, but don't expect to find different outside of India. Arun is left to his beer (and happy with it) while Anushka and I enjoy comparing notes on our lives of professional women. She is working in media, a job that is interesting and demanding but some times requires long hours in the office. Therefore, media is not considered a good career choice ...